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Impeach: Rubio and Wife Have Received 17 Traffic Tickets Since 1997
Townhall.com ^ | June 5, 2015 | Guy Benson

Posted on 06/05/2015 4:42:25 PM PDT by Kaslin

The New York Times has been fairly dogged in its pursuit of details regarding the Clinton Foundation "slush fund" -- with new questions about quid quo pro pocket-lining and influence-mongering arising virtually every single day.  In the interests of scandal coverage balance, the Times is out with a red hot scoop about Marco Rubio and his wife.  The question is not whether this is a game-changing bombshell. The question is whether this is merely disqualifying, or an impeachable offense:

...Politics is not the only area where Mr. Rubio, a Republican from Florida, has an affinity for the fast track. He and his wife, Jeanette, have also shown a tendency to be in a rush on the road. According to a search of the Miami-Dade and Duval County court dockets, the Rubios have been cited for numerous infractions over the years for incidents that included speeding, driving through red lights and careless driving. A review of records dating back to 1997 shows that the couple had a combined 17 citations: Mr. Rubio with four and his wife with 13. On four separate occasions they agreed to attend remedial driving school after a violation. Mr. Rubio’s troubles behind the wheel predate his days in politics. In 1997, when he was cited for careless driving by a Florida Highway Patrol officer, he was fined and took voluntary driving classes. A dozen years later, in 2009, he was ticketed for speeding on a highway in Duval County and found himself back in driver improvement school. Things got more complicated in 2011 when Mr. Rubio was alerted to the fact that his license was facing suspension after a traffic camera caught him failing to stop at a red light in his beige Buick. His lawyer, Alex Hanna, paid a $16 fee to delay the suspension and eventually it was dismissed.

Lest incredulous readers doubt the true scope of Rubio's shame, the Times helpfully links to PDF images of the couple's traffic citations.  Game, set, match.  I mean, the presidential candidate has been ticketed four times since 1997, gang.  And his license might have been suspended if he hadn't paid a $16 fine.  Look, presidential candidates -- especially serious ones -- should be thoroughly vetted by the Fourth Estate.  A recent examination of a potentially-embarrassing real estate deal involving Florida's junior Senator wasn't out of bounds, for instance, even if it highlighted some media double standards.  But the traffic infraction story is silly season stuff.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, cares.  Adding a special layer of silliness to this "controversy" is the manner in which the Times appears to have come by its exclusive, ahem, reporting.  The Free Beacon seems to have them dead to rights here:

Records show that each of the citations mentioned by the New York Times were pulled in person by American Bridge operatives on May 26, 2015...Neither of the reporters, Alan Rappeport and Steve Eder, appeared on the docket records for any of the traffic citations for Rubio and his wife. An additional researcher credited in the New York Times, Kitty Bennett, also does not appear on any of the court records...None of the reporters involved responded to Washington Free Beacon requests for comment by press time. In a recent Times story that actually cited Democratic sources by name, Jeremy Peters reported that “A Hillary Clinton Match-Up With Marco Rubio Is a Scary Thought for Democrats.”  So scary, indeed, that Democrats appear to be feeding opposition research to the Times.

American Bridge is a pro-Hillary Clinton Democratic attack group run by hatchet-man David Brock. I agree with Noah Rothman that it's not necessarily improper for media outlets to run with items fed to them by opposition research organizations.  The fact that partisan researchers dug up relevant information doesn't disqualify the news value or validity of that information.  But if it's not shoe-leather original reporting that unearths the story, a newspaper's audience probably ought to be informed of the provenance of that information. Plus, I'd add, this "scoop" is particularly frivolous in nature.  Charles Cooke snarks:

To recap the scandals so far: Rubio bought a house that lost money. Rubio bought a fridge. Rubio has four traffic citations since 1993.— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 5, 2015


The refrigerator outrage, which came as conscience-shocking news to me, is mentioned in this story. Charles somehow let this unforgivable transgression slip his mind:

Marco Rubio Drinking Water *ORIGINAL*

I'll leave you with two additional thoughts:

If Rubio would just go ahead kill someone with his bad driving, maybe they'll call him the "Lion of the Senate" someday.— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) June 5, 2015


Rubio has been ticketed four times since 1997. Hillary hasn't driven a car since 1996.— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 5, 2015



UPDATEFlashback to April (via a Twitter pal):

Democratic Presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton's security detail led a handful of journalists on two lengthy high-speed chases to homes of influential Democrats on Monday. Her lone official appearance on her first day in New Hampshire was a carefully stage-managed small-business roundtable in Keene. But a lunchtime visit to a main-street bakery and two more appointments later in the day were off-the-books and under the public's radar. If police radar had been engaged, however, it would have clocked Hillary's signature black conversion van - 'Scooby', for the uninitiated – hitting 92 mph in a driving rainstorm on Interstate 89, where the top speed limit is 65. No one in the motorcade displayed flashing lights or blasted a siren.

Don't bother asking Hillary about any of this either. Her inner thoughts are her interviews.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2016election; drivebymedia; hillaryclinton; marcorubio
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To: wardaddy

Sure he is... if he thinks we should just forget the Gang of 8 all the while going on the radio driving home the need to clean out the party of the unprincipled Republicans...well Rubio was not conned into the Gang of 8...he knew exactly what he was doing and still is a pro-amnesty pathway shill. Thank you for taggin’ Mark here...this is the time we need to fight for TRUE CONSERVATIVES not frauds like Rubio.


21 posted on 06/05/2015 5:31:33 PM PDT by gwgn02
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To: gwgn02

There are a ridiculous number of conservatives (supposedly) that somehow thing that one can back RINOS and liberals and still be considered conservatives.

If words mean anything then a guy repeatedly backing an illegal supporter isn’t a conservative. If that logic is incorrect, I would love to know how.


22 posted on 06/05/2015 5:38:38 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: hoosiermama

Actually, for me this is a resume’ enhancer.


23 posted on 06/05/2015 5:42:36 PM PDT by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-hereQaeda" and its allies.)
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To: Kaslin
No doubt this is selective investigation on the part of the (cough, cough) 'news' media.

That said, if Mister Rubio were not for amnesty for illegal aliens, and if he did not think we were completely stupid and he could talk about the "Dream Act" as if it were not (ultimately) amnesty for illegal aliens...

Then I just might give a darn.

Dems, progressives, Marxists... All of you.

Thank you for going after GOP supporters of amnesty for illegal aliens.

This makes it much easier for us GOPers in our forthcoming primaries.

.

24 posted on 06/05/2015 5:48:10 PM PDT by Seaplaner (Never give in. Never give in. Never...except to convictions of honour and good sense. W. Churchill)
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To: Kaslin

Whoop-dee-doo


25 posted on 06/05/2015 5:50:13 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: Kaslin

It the Rubios were Democrats, Al Sharpton would say it’s obvious that they have been victims of racial profiling.


26 posted on 06/05/2015 5:55:26 PM PDT by syriacus
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To: Seaplaner

Maybe we should ask Ted Cruz to explain his immigration stance more thoroughly. He seems to be all over the place too.

http://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/641637


27 posted on 06/05/2015 5:57:54 PM PDT by dowcaet
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To: Kaslin

Rubio had FOUR non-moving violation tickets in 17 years???!?

Get a rope.

I can think of one big reason why Schumer’s Huckleberry isn’t on my electability list. Having fewer car related tickets than me in an equivalent time period isn’t one of them.

Rubio’s got 99 problems but parking ain’t one...


28 posted on 06/05/2015 6:02:56 PM PDT by ziravan (Choose Sides.)
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To: Kaslin

All of this while Hillary’s motorcade zooms across Iowa at 95mph.


29 posted on 06/05/2015 6:03:24 PM PDT by lurk
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To: kevao
"Personally I can’t wait for Rubio to get shredded by Cruz in the debates."

Same here. First major debates he gets into will put him permanently at the top.

30 posted on 06/05/2015 6:06:10 PM PDT by capt. norm (Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.)
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To: Kaslin

When will the @nytimes feature a hard hitting 3 part story about Ted Cruz’s “alleged” history of jaywalking?!

WHEN?! WHEN?


31 posted on 06/05/2015 6:08:51 PM PDT by Nachum (Obamacare: It's. The. Flaw.)
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To: Kaslin

meanwhile, the right has never published any opposition research on 0bama or hillary.

if you vote gop you might as well democrat, for all the difference it makes


32 posted on 06/05/2015 6:11:33 PM PDT by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: Kaslin

Next up, a 9,000 word spread in the NYTimes on Cruz not eating his vegetables in 1975, riding his bike on the wrong side of the street in 1979, and saying the word ‘booger’ in ‘81.


33 posted on 06/05/2015 6:18:02 PM PDT by Flick Lives ("I can't believe it's not Fascism!")
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To: Kaslin

One a year between the two of them? BFD. I suspect a false flag op to try to make Rubio look squeaky clean and thereby hurt Cruz. Then if he get nominated, they let loose with anything actually damning that they have.


34 posted on 06/05/2015 6:29:45 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: Kaslin

If each of them gets a ticket once every two years, it would work out to that number. Doesn’t sound so bad to me... regardless of the fact that the NYT just printed up the opposition research handed them by Hillary dirt diggers.


35 posted on 06/05/2015 7:08:48 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
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To: Kaslin
 photo AAAAA_zpsfgbsqgjv.jpg
36 posted on 06/05/2015 7:34:31 PM PDT by Patton@Bastogne (Communications@TedCruzFloridaVictory.org)
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To: Kaslin

“The question is not whether this is a game-changing bombshell. The question is whether this is merely disqualifying, or an impeachable offense:”

If only Rubio had just smoked weed and snorted coke. That would have been fine, right?


37 posted on 06/05/2015 8:18:12 PM PDT by Personal Responsibility (Changing the name of a thing doesn't change the thing. A liberal by any other name...)
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To: gwgn02

Hey Mark...you’re being a big DOPE...


Mark is a dope like HELLary Clintoon is an honest law abiding faithful citizen..


38 posted on 06/05/2015 8:31:25 PM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited (specifically) to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)
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To: Kaslin

He got four tickets over seventeen years.
She thirteen.

Title of article is misleading, but I guess:

“Wife can’t drive” is not a news story..


39 posted on 06/05/2015 11:46:58 PM PDT by CharleysPride (non chiedere cio che non si puo prendere -- Charlie Daniels)
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To: Kaslin

Luckily, Presidents don’t drive.


40 posted on 06/05/2015 11:54:53 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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